Octopus Card Refund Fee
As mentioned in the article when I activated the Octopus Card, the fees for returning the card are posted on the OCTOPUS website.
Applicable Fees for Refund
Handling Fee of HK$11 or 1% of any remaining value, whichever is higher, for any such Octopus returned if it meets any one or more of the following criteria:
– if its remaining value exceeds HK$1,000; and/or
– if it is returned within 90 days from the date of issue; and/or
– if such Octopus has only been used for five (5) payment transactions or less from the date of issue (excluding any bill payment transaction or donation transaction)
If you visit Hong Kong on a short trip, make an Octopus card, and return it before returning home, you will be charged a fee of $11 or 1% of the remaining value, whichever is higher, as it falls within 90 days from the date of issue in the second bullet point.
However, in my case, the card was issued about 5 years ago, so it does not fall under the category of returning within 90 days after issuance. Since I don’t have a $1,000 balance on my card, and I have used it more than five times, including during my previous stays in Hong Kong, none of the three bullet points apply. It doesn’t seem that the fee will be charged if I return my card this time and have the balance refunded.
Amount Refunded when I returned Octopus
On my last day in Hong Kong, I took a bus to the airport to return home. After arriving at the airport, I thought I would not use the Octopus anymore for this stay, so I headed to the Customer Service Center at the Airport Express station to return the card and get a refund of the balance.
Showing the Octopus Card, I said that I would like to refund. I handed over the card and he checked the balance. Cash was returned along with the receipt.
Here is the receipt.
A total of $69.8 was returned, consisting of $50 for the deposit and $19.8 for the remaining value. The Refund Fee was 0 (zero), as explained on the OCTOPUS website.
I was able to return the Octopus card and get the refund without any fees.
